Books – Jill Worrall

You can read many of Jill’s travel articles on line by checking out www.stuff.co.nz. At least six provincial daily newspapers in New Zealand publish one of Jill’s travel articles on their travel page once a month. A Google search is the easiest way to find them (and many others written by Jill over the years for other publications, including the New Zealand Herald! She also writes regularly for Latitude magazine and many of them are available on line at www.latitudemagazine.co.nz.

Jill has been managing, leading and guiding tours for 12 years. She still gets people who ask her if she’s had a good “holiday” on her return! Yes, she loves travel and working with people, but being a tour manager is no holiday…not if you want to make sure your clients have a wonderful and worry-free time. She takes what she does very seriously and works tirelessly on tour and with all the preparations before the tour.

A Portrait of New Zealand

by Warren Jacobs (Author, Photographer), Jill Worrall (Author)

Depicts the landscapes of the North and South Islands in over 200 photographs. The book was first published in 1982 in two separate volumes, with the combined edition published in 1988 and reprinted every year since. This new edition contains the same well-loved images but has been given new colour reproduction throughout in order to restore the spectacular quality of the original photographs. Errol Brathwaite’s original text has been revised and rewritten by Jill Worrall.

Tales From The Petra Hills

by Jill Worrall and Harbi Amarat

After many months of interviews and research Jill’s new book, written in conjunction with her Bedouin Jordanian friend Harbi Amarat, is on sale. Tales from the Petra Hills will not be available in New Zealand bookshops but I will have copies for sale.

The book tells the stories of the Bedouin who have lived around Petra for centuries – their myths, legends, customs, beliefs and even their food. It’s a fascianting insight into a people who have moved in just a few generations from being semi-nomads to being an integral part of Petra’s tourism infrastructure. There are full colour photos in the book, maps and Harbi’s own personal guide to Petra. If you would like a copy just email me.

Copies are $35NZ including postage and packing for within NZ.

Two Wings Of A Nightingale

by Jill Worrall

Iran is probably the most misunderstood country in the world, and its people are among the most feared. Award-winning travel writer Jill Worrall, with her friend Reza Mirkhalaf, a leading tour manager from Tehran, describe an Iran the world has forgotten about. Few people in the west know anything about the Iranian people beyond their current politics and religion. Two Wings of a Nightingale uses the threads of Iran’s silk road heritage as a basis for a road trip travelogue. Many of the places visited have rarely been written about by westerners, and in writing this book Jill benefited from Reza’s expert knowledge on Iran’s history, religion, culture and architecture.

During their journey, Jill and Reza explore the caravanserai that were once a vital part of the silk routes that once crossed Persia, while also encountering many ordinary Iranians. In writing this book, Jill wanted to write about Iran in a way that would give readers a greater insight into the landscapes, landmarks and people of the country at a grassroots level. The title reflects the fact that they were two people of different sexes, different religions and cultures travelling together, yet keeping their travels harmoniously on course. It also refers to the many dichotomies of Iranian life. In the course of their travels, Jill and Reza visit the holiest city in Iran, Mashhad, paddle in the Persian Gulf, pass close by the borders of both Afghanistan and Iraq, stay with local families, play in the snow near Mt Ararat, pray in mosques, read poetry in Shiraz and eat ice creams in Isfahan.
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A Blonde In The Bazaar

by Jill Worrall

Few Western women know Pakistan as Jill Worrall does. Since her first visit over 25 years ago she has become deeply attached to this fascinating but trouble-torn land. Almost always in the company of Pakistani Mujahid Ali Khan, with whom she has a close but sometimes combustible working relationship, she is the special guest at a wedding in the Shangri-La setting of Hunza, spends a week riding a camel through the remote Baluchistan Desert, becomes a fan of Pakistan’s Lollywood movies, and floats in a boat down the Indus. She travels under armed guard to the legendary Khyber Pass and retraces the steps of Buddhist pilgrims and traders along one of the ancient silk routes. And all this (and more) while learning to cope with cultural differences, language difficulties – and the often over-riding anxiety over toilet arrangements.

Buy your copy now!

For New Zealand buyers: A very limited number are still available from me for $20, signed and postage paid within New Zealand Please contact me via email. If you want a personal message in your book please send me that too!

Coastlines of New Zealand

by Warren Jacobs (Author, Photographer), Jill Worrall (Author)

Taking a circumnavigational approach, this collection of photographs covers the extent of New Zealand’s coastline, including the more accessible off-shore islands. The work acts as a tribute to the country’s diverse seaboard, ranging from sunny sheltered beaches to remote cliffs.

Landscapes Of New Zealand

by Warren Jacobs (Author, Photographer), Jill Worrall (Author)

A sister volume to “Coastlines of New Zealand”, this book by acclaimed photographer Warren Jacobs showcases the country’s amazing contours from north to south. New Zealand is such a diverse country in terms of its terrain and landforms that no two areas are the same. Accordingly, the book is divided into regions, each of which is introduced by a map and a short essay written by travel writer Jill Worrall. The regions covered are Northland, Auckland/Coromandel/Bay of Plenty, Eastland/Wairarapa, Taranaki/Wanganui/Wellington, Nelson/Marlborough/Kaikoura, Canterbury/Otago, West Coast and Southland. An overall introductory essay addressing the unique nature of the country puts the book in context.

A Dream Fulfilled: The story of the Opuha Dam

by Jill Worrall

Written for Opuha Water Ltd, this book is more than a set of facts and photos; it is about the tenacity of South Cantabrians; about guts and drive and an unswerving will to succeed. It is also, in no short measure, about politics, pressure, disappointment, elation and drought. The scheme has been going for a decade, and those who had any part in its creation gathered in Timaru recently to celebrate what has been a long and hard road. Now, the dam, and its associated irrigation scheme, are held up — and rightly so — as what can be achieved when water can be stored. In South Canterbury’s case, it is much. The dam, giving surety of water supply to farms, has led to the creation of 500 new jobs; augmented the Opihi River to the point where once again it is an anglers’ delight; created a very popular recreational lake near Fairlie, and, not least, generates electricity. And it was all done by private enterprise at a time when the Government was the only body building dams or creating anything like a major project.

The book is available at Chapters and Verses in Stafford Street, Timaru.